The President appoints one Surveyor-General in the States and Territories named below, each embracing one surveying district: Louisiana, Florida, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Dakota Territory, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, New Mexico, California, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Utah, Wyoming and Arizona. Each Surveyor-General has but one office in his district, located, from time to time, as the President shall direct, and must reside in the district to which he is appointed. The term of office of Surveyors-General is four years.

The Records Of Surveys

The Secretary of the Interior takes the neces-sary measures for the completion of the surveys in the general surveying districts for which Surveyors-General have been appointed, at the earliest practicable period; and when the surveys are finished, the field-notes, maps, records and other papers pertaining to land-titles within the same are turned over to the Secretary of State of the respective States, and the office of Surveyor-General in every such district ceases and is discontinued.

Every Surveyor-General is authorized to employ a sufficient number of skillful surveyors as his deputies, who are sworn to a faithful performance of their duties. He frames regulations for their direction, and has power to remove them for negligence or misconduct in office.

What Shall Be Surveyed

Each Surveyor-General is required to cause to be surveyed, measured, and marked all base and meridian lines through such points, and perpetuated by such monuments and such other correction parallels and meridians as are prescribed by law and instructions from the General Land-Office, in respect to the public lands within his surveying district to which the Indian title has been or may be extinguished. He causes to be surveyed all private land-claims within his district after they have been confirmed by authority of Congress, so far as may be necessary to complete the survey of the public lands. He transmits to the register of the respective land-offices within his district general and particular plats of all lands surveyed by him for each land district, forwarding copies of such plats to the Commissioner of the General Land-Office.

As far as is compatible with his other duties, he is required occasionally to inspect the surveying operations in his district, sufficiently to satisfy himself that the field-work is being faithfully executed according to contract. In case he cannot give his personal attention to such inspection, he is authorized to appoint a confidential deputy to make the required examination.

There is allowed for the several offices of the Surveyors-General, for clerk-hire, office-rent, fuel, books, stationery, and other incidental expenses, such sums as Congress may appropriate from year to year.

Whenever he thinks that the public interest requires it, the President is authorized to transfer the duties of Land Register and Receiver in any district to the Surveyor-General of the district in which such land district is located.